Daniel's POV
The palace never sleeps, not really. Even at night, whispers crawl along the corridors like shadows, sliding beneath doors and curling into ears that want to hear and know too much.
Tonight, I heard too much myself.
I was delivering a tray of desserts to the dining hall when I caught fragments of conversation between two ministers huddled near the windows, their faces looking pale and unhappy.
“…the prince’s attention… it’s… improper. That lowly chef…Daniel, has too much influence on him already.”
“True. If he keeps favoring Daniel, it undermines our laws and rules. The palace will see to it. We must…”
“Wait. You don’t mean… remove him?”
I froze mid-step. My chest tightened.
Remove me? As how?
What have I done?
My mind drifted, picturing all the ways I could be disco
